Looking Out, Charming c. 1880s Mother of Pearl Seashell Folk Art Carving circus carousel but it feels even more

but it feels even more special in hand

This one has a blank circle at the center of one side where the monogram would be carved (and still could be

or a devil

unusual for its solid black ground

Looking Out, Charming c. 1880s Mother of Pearl Seashell Folk Art Carving circus carousel but it feels even moreI'm sure I've seen them on occasion, but I'd never really looked at a folk art mother of pearl shell carving of this sort before and really what an amazing thing, all done by hand, quite a feat of labor and patience! Perhaps not surprisingly, fisherman were the most common subjects depicted on these, typically shown holding a net and facing away from the sea (toward the viewer), as if coming to shore in at the end of the day. But this much better this